The pull-a-rabbit-out-the-hat guy who handles branding & asset creation for record releases and shows. Led the marketing on Gareth Emery's sold-out laserface tour.
Hey whatsup, Steve here. Music marketing ninja..
I provide branding & visual assets for record releases, tours & pretty much everything dance music related. I'm offering help with Spotify canvasses, video editing, artwork design and any other creative asset requirements you might have.
For the past many years i've worked exclusively within Trance music. Initially as a tour photographer and social media guy; shortly after founded my digital agency FaceTheMusic, took ownership of Garuda Music (record label) and more recently provided business management & strategy consulting to music producers.
I'm a creator at heart and love keeping some of my time for Adobe after effects, premiere pro & photoshop.
So that's me. Say hello and tell me what you need ;)
Recent kickass projects:
** Laserface by Gareth Emery - https://youtu.be/s21zOyyaBxM
** Ashley Wallbridge 'Ready For Life' album - https://youtu.be/oeaahzqQOOk
** Ongoing record releases - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJda-akpmjb7w3e_jDQVAMRWcuMWXsceB
*BACKGROUND*
- Director @ Garuda Music (label)
- Artist manager @ Ashley Wallbridge
- Founder @ FaceTheMusic (Digital Agency)
I'd love to hear about your project. Click the 'Contact' button above to get in touch.
Credits
Interview with Steven Cunniffe
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: Gareth Emery asked me to lead the marketing on his first 'Laserface' arena show in New York. I'd never managed an event outside of the UK so it was pretty far out of my comfort zone. We did everything in-house and managed to sell out Terminal 5 (3500 attendees), then did it again in San Francisco to a crowd of 8000. Mental! It was a massive team effort with a lot of moving pieces but i'm particularly proud of helping the team cover so many bases by bringing together a rare combination of skills. This included branding & marketing strategy before the show, event logistics on the day, managing a multi-camera video crew, photographing the performance myself and then pulling an all-nighter to edit the official video directly before flying back to Europe the next day. Exhausting but totally worth it. Here's the first show recap: https://youtu.be/3gb2gmmTjx8
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: Record releases with Gareth Emery. Getting super technical with YouTube optimisation.
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: Ashley Wallbridge - Phenomenal production skills.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Both have a time and place.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: I care about what I create and never put out rushed work.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: I especially love the start of new projects when you're starting from scratch and begin to hone in on the winning idea. LOVE those moments!
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: "What caption should we use for this Steve?"
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: A strong video is just as important as the song.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: Tell me which three words you think sum up your project or brand best.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Number 1 rule to keep in mind... Your content should be exciting enough to appeal to people who have never heard of you. I swear by this rule. It also helps if you've already got an idea of the 'theme' you want to go for, with your branding. But no problem if not.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: Laptop. Headphones. Standing desk. Iced coffee machine and a sunshade.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: Literally not a path, I just cut my way through the bushes by consistently helping artists whose music I liked and developed a highly interrelated set of skills along the way.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: All about the feels. Whatever mood or feeling I get from the music usually conjures up some visual ideas that I think are a strong match and will be easily relatable to the viewer.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: I've been fortunate to meet the vast majority of artists within Trance music - If I had a time machine i'd love to go back and work on Paul Van Dyk's early record campaigns.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Don't be afraid to keep it simple. The important metric is feelings not how many layers are in a project.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Trance, Electronic, EDM
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Finding a strong one-sentence story and mood that sums up a record, and bringing that to life visually.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: Visual identity and usally some copywriting too.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: Listen to artist's new song on repeat, get ideas, pull a mood board of images together to flesh out the right feeling/vibe/theme. Go do something else for a bit. Come back and start working on the final, chosen idea.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I have a beautiful vintage oak desk on the 17th floor with a panoramic view over Salford Quays (Media City UK). I love it. Some of my best work has been done on a laptop in an airport though, so the studio isn't really required.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Everything visual. If i'm not in photoshop or premiere pro, i'm probably on a call brainstorming discussing promotional ideas.
- Podcast Editing & MasteringContact for pricing
- EditingContact for pricing
- Gareth Emery
- Ashley Wallbridge
- Will Atkinson
